Beijing's pharmacy chain operators, including Cachet, Golden Elephant, Yishou Baixing, Haodekuai, and Jewim Pharmaceutical have jointly initiated a pharmacy alliance, which is the seventh pharmacy alliance in the provincial-level market in China.

The Beijing pharmacy alliance includes 23 drugstore chain retailers with over 800 stores, and their total annual sales are more than CNY3 billion. The members of the alliance will implement joint procurement from first-tier manufacturers, and will become joint agencies of second- and third-tier manufacturers to reduce procurement costs and improve the supervision over the medicine quality.

The alliance will also lead the standardized operations of pharmacy retail chain stores. In addition, it will offer long-term health tracking, medical consulting, and health lectures to residents in Beijing.

Zhou Li, first chairman of the alliance and general manager for Cachet, told local media that during the process of China's medical reform, the retail drugstores have already faced competition from their peers and from different industries. The establishment of Beijing pharmacy alliance aims to create a scale effect in Beijing's pharmaceutical retail market and gain greater voice in the face of competition.